


The Young Lord

by Of_Princes_and_Savages



Category: Thundercats (1985)
Genre: AU, Also I think I made Snarf kind of endearing?, Gen, I love him but really boy, Original Series, how?, kid!Lion-O, meaning if there's a sequel Tygra is the damsel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 06:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16781206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Princes_and_Savages/pseuds/Of_Princes_and_Savages
Summary: Bearer of the Sword of Omens, wielder of the Eye of Thundera, and Lord of the Thundercats. That was a lot of responsibility heaped on the small shoulders of a twelve-year-old cub.





	The Young Lord

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this is the 1985 series. If you're unfamiliar with the original series: Lion-O was 12 and through timey-wimey science reasons got aged up to 22 but still acted 12 half the time, hence the seed that germinated into this fic.
> 
> It's a really good question,- _why did they introduce Lion-O as a child if they were just going to make him He-Man? Couldn't he have learned his adulting lessons as a child or teenager?_ -for me, and I couldn't find any fic in the sparse collection of classic Thundercats fic like it. Sooo...

He set the auto-pilot on, and slumped back in his seat, shutting his tired eyes. There. It was done.

The sword still stood where he'd planted it in the deck, watching over the six nobles (and single snarf,) safely preserved in the capsules behind him, now awaiting it's new Lord to wake up in a new world. Jaga dearly wished that things were different. Lion-O would struggle for many years to learn the secrets of the Eye of Thundera on his own.

It was perhaps hubris that had made Jaga keep the secrets of the Eye for so many years to himself. He was the longest-living bearer of the Sword of Omens, however, and he always considered that partially accredited to his secrecy...but perhaps it was foolish to keep secrets from young Lion-O in case something like this happened. _Was_ happening.

He could only hope that the strength he saw in the boy would carry him through the hard times ahead...

* * *

Lion-O loved Snarf like a third parent, really, he truly did. He'd been there for as long as he could remember, keeping an eye on him and taking care of him. But...well, sometimes it was a little stifling.

"Wake up Lion-O!" A paw landed on his chest, shaking him out of his sleep. "I-It's me! It's old Snarf!"

"Uh..." Very much against his will, Lion-O's eyes opened. He wasn't even sure he could call himself awake yet, his head was thick and his mouth was dry, and going back to sleep sounded better than maintaining a conversation. "What are you doing Snarf? Go away..."

But from experience, Lion-O knew when Snarf decreed it was time to get a start on the day, it was time to go. So he went to sit up, prepared to roll out of bed and "shake a leg!" to prepare to face the day. All thoughts of leg-shaking and day-facing were driven out of his head, however, when it connected sharply with something hard hanging over his bed.

"Ow!" He grunted, shifting to sit up without hurting himself this time. "What in the-Oh..."

Lion-O looked up at the open lid over him, making him feel somewhat like a pearl in an oyster. "The suspension capsule!" He gasped. "But...how did it get outside the ship?"

Snarf stayed in his position kneeling by the capsule's edge, reddish-brown eyes full of his usual anxiety. "I-I was really worried Lion-O!" he sniffled, tail twitching. "I thought for sure it was going to turn out-"

"Did you take us out of the ship, Snarf?" Lion-O asked, trying to stand. He yelped, whacking his head on the upper lid again because it wasn't as wide open as he thought. He rubbed his sore head absently, looking down at his feet on the cushiony mat. "What's going on?"

Snarf made that grumbly-whine that meant he was agitated and scampered off, maybe to look for a first-aid kid. Lion-O felt groggy from his...his who-knew-how-long nap, but other than a bump on the head he'd just caused, he was fine. That wouldn't suit Snarf until he'd been given a thorough poking, prodding and _fussing_ though. Wilykit and Wilykat thought it was funny how Snarf hovered over him all the time like he was still a little cub. At least, they did until Lion-O suggested Snarf take a look at them too after they'd gotten all three of them into some trouble or other.

Wait...Wilykit and Wilykat...

Where was everybody?

Lion-O took a few careful steps, then walked over the soft, uneven ground towards a small puddle. He couldn't say if it was a puddle, actually, or the remains of a small pond that had been plowed over and scorched by their disintergrating flagship crashing onto this alien planet. All he knew for sure was that it was water, and he took a long drink before Snarf could fuss at him about germs. It helped the fog in his head, somewhat, but he got distracted by the ripples solidifying into his reflection.

He looked...

He looked...

He looked the same, he guessed. Same fluffy red hair that looked perpetually ruffled, same brown eyes, same chin he liked to think was growing stronger and he wouldn't be stuck with this baby face forever. It was a little odd to see himself wearing the bright-blue singlet Jaga had gifted him with before-

Wait. _Jaga!_

"Look what I have for you! _Snarf, snarf_!"

Lion-O snapped out of his thoughts, looking over and down at his nanny. Snarf, looking pleased, stood beside him patting the teddy bear he'd left in his room before...before everything. Before he was officially named Lord of the Thundercats because Father was...and before Thundera had...and before...

Suddenly teddy bears seemed very stupid.

"A toy? Oh Snarf, I don't have time for toys!" Lion-O grumbled. "Good grief, I'm not that little anymore!"

Snarf's ears drooped. " _Snarrf_...I guess, Lord or not, you always look little to faithful old Snarf..."

Lion-O felt a deserved apology crop up on his tongue. Snarf didn't really deserve to be snapped out. Lion-O was angry at...at...he was angry, and scared, and still unsure what to do now that they were here, but Snarf didn't deserve that. But before the words could get out, his nanny looked up at the same roaring sound filling the air that caught his own ears.

"Lion-O, look out!" Snarf puffed up his red-and-yellow fur on end, crouching down protectively as the ominous green vessel soared overhead. "The Mutants are back! _Snnarf! Snarf!_ "

The Mutant ship was deafening as it thundered past them, hot wind whipping Lion-O's mane back. For a second he thought it would land on top of them, but they passed without slowing down, making a beeline for the bulk of the crash site beyond the ridge he and Snarf found themselves on.

Lion-O supposed he should be scared, but all he could think about was he was alone, he didn't know what was going on, and he wanted answers. And the answers were beyond that ridge, in the same wreck.

So that's where he went.

* * *

_Mutants_.

Supposedly, not all Mutants were... _Mutants_. But Snarf wasn't sure what to think about that since it was their own fault.

In his history lessons on the Planet of the Snarfs, they'd all learned that once upon a time, Plun-Darr had been remarkably similar to peaceful Thundera in terms of atmosphere and lifeforms, although with more variety. But centuries ago, when the Thunderians began switching to different energy sources and began to conserve their environment when they began taxing their resources carelessly, Plun-Darr did not. They continued with their poisonous war machines and dangerous energy sources until their planet became a steaming cesspool, and they took to pillaging other planets for resources they'd long depleted: Food, water, medicines, whatever advances they'd made in the years since had been brought about by stealing more advanced technology, and much of their empire was built on the backs of slaves and prisoners.

Then they crossed the Thunderians, and the on-and-off wars and confrontations had been going on ever since. Lord Claudius had been blinded in a Mutant attack, for Jaga's sake, when Lion-O was no more than a cub. They were dangerous!

They weren't someone a young boy should come within a mile of!

But Lion-O was a stubborn boy, and he was peering over the rocks he'd used for cover at the scene below, Reptilians and Simians and Jackalians crawling over the wreckage like ants on an dropped cake, far too close for comfort.

"Mutants!" Lion-O gasped. "They look like-Like I should remember them."

" _Mrrow!_ This is bad, Lion-O!" Snarf gasped his own deep breaths, more from overexertion than shock though. He scrambled down the rocky ridge, trying to catch up to the boy and pull him to safety. "I just knew we hadn't seen the last of-Waah!"

Snarf's paws slipped out from under him, something lost and not-rock shifted beneath them and he was face-first into the stone.

"Ow!! What in the gol dern..." Snarf looked down at the offending object, blinking with surprise. The sword. Jaga's sword. _The Sword of Omens!_ It must be what the Mutants were after! "Lion-O! Look"

"Shh!" Lion-O hissed, not turning away from his post an inch. "Do you want the Mutants to hear?"

Fair point, but, this was important! Snarf seized the handle in his mouth and padded over to his stubborn boy, trying to say _"it's the Sword of Omens!_ _Look! Lion-O it's the sword!"_ only it came out mumbling and stifled.

"Good grief, what's the matter with you Snarf?" Lion-O muttered, giving him a brieg, disapproving glance. "We're in big trouble here and you bring me another stupid toy? Shoo!"

Snarf sighed around the hilt clenched in his teeth. Where did he go wrong with this boy?

* * *

Since Slithe was so determined to get this eyeball, or whatever, and their commanders back on Plun-Darr would probably treat them to a fate worse than death if they returned empty handed, Monkian hadn't minded the trip in the suspension capsules.

It was terribly dull, even if he was asleep, but now that they were awake that could only mean one thing: They and the Thundercats had landed!

More accurately, the Thundercats ship had landed. Well, crash-landed. The Mutant warship was intact, perfectly so, and they were woken up automatically and released from suspension with time to arm themselves and make a plan before they were transported down to the surface of this watery little planet.

Thank goodness they hadn't landed in any of that water, Monkian was comfortable with the Skycutters but Nosedivers were loathsome things.

As it stood, now that they were digging through the wreckage, Monkian decided it was worth the suspension period. The Thunderian ship was in ruins, which meant they didn't need to fight those blasted cats again, and finding the eyeball was going to be as easy as turning over the right piece of debris at the right time!

Plus, there was an unexpected bonus.

Slithe was bellowing at them _again_ to look everywhere, and Monkian was choosing to ignore him _again_ when his eyes landed on an unusually intact piece of equipment. A big oblong box, with a glass screen. Not a screen, wait, no. A window! A suspension capsule, with the seal of the Thundercats on the lid!

"Oohoo! Over here!" He beckoned. "One of the Thundercats is still asleep in his capsule, and..." aha! "here's another!"

All of the capsules seemed to have scattered in the same radius. One, two, three, four, five of them! All occupied with sleeping cats, totally unaware!

Jackalman snickered, swaggering over to the nearest capsule to him with an axe in his hands. "Nyahaha! We'll never have a better chance to be rid of them, forever!"

He punctuated this by striking the poleax blade against the window of the pod, once, twice, and as if he'd rung a racing bell all the other Mutants took up their weapons and started to do the same to the rest of the capsules. A brilliant idea, of course, and Monkian joined right in.

It wasn't more than a few swings, though, before a voice cried out: "No! Stop that!"

Monkian looked up from his smashing to find a mere cub standing on a ridge overlooking the wreck. The boy leapt from the rocks to a twisted piece of hull that he used as a ramp, dashing down it towards them stupidly.

Jackalman scoffed, pointing at the figure wearing blue clothing and boots. "Look, Slithe, it's that impudent little brat with the sword!"

"Hmph!" Slithe grunted. "I don't see any Sword of Omens now, yesss? Let the whelp act the hero, we'll send him ahead to greet the rest of these fools!"

With admittedly quick reflexes, the cub ducked around a slow-moving Reptilian and dodged the swing of a Jackalian's blade on the improvised ramp before leaping down near the pods. Monkian wasn't sure what sword a whelp liks this could carry, but he had none, and was soon going to be a bloody smear on the ruins in either case.

He took a swing at the boy with his mace, but was surprised again at how nimble Thunderkittens could be. The heavy, spiked ball soared over the ducked head, not so much as ruffling a strand of red hair. Jackalman came at the boy from the otherside with his axe, missing him as well, but nearly chopping Monkian's arm off.

"Oohhoo! Watch it!"

"Nyah! Get out of the way! I've a score to settle with this cat!"

A Reptilian with a pike wisely hung back, not wanting to impale one of his commanders, but was the first of a growing mass of Mutants to form a ring around them as they attempted to land a hit on the brat.

He was quick, but, he wasn't as nimble as Monkian had thought. What seemed like purposeful weaving before soon revealed themselves to be flailing, frantic jumps to get out of their reach. This boy was no trained warrior, and it would only be a matter of time before he slipped up.

Monkian took a step back, letting Jackalman wear the cub down while he caught his breathe. He didn't realize it at the time, but that was their first mistake.

Because that when a furry lump crashed down on top of his helmet, wrapping around his head and shoulders like a living, spiteful blanket.

* * *

Lion-O probably should have known that facing off against two Mutants would be different than facing Wilykit and Wilykat in a playful sparring session.

(He almost always lost those too...)

He was rather proud he didn't lose his head yet, or any other limbs, but the Jackalian commander seemed determined to change that. Soon. He hung back for a moment, when Lion-O almost lost his footing, to cackle in a way that sent chills down his spine.

"Nyahahahaha! Look at you now, not so brave without your magic sword, are you boy?"

That was when, over the Jackalian's shoulder, Lion-O saw Snarf fling himself down on a Simian's head and cling, effectively blinding him with his body and limbs while his tail tossed that toy sword from earlier.

Lion-O managed to catch it out of the air, largely on instinct more than anything. It wasn't a real sword, not that he'd had much practice with those either, but maybe-

As soon as his hand curled around the grip, Lion-O realized he made a mistake: Electricty sparked up his arm, colors dancing behind his eyes as lighting swallowed his body. It _was_ real!

"This sword..." Lion-O furrowed his brows together, staring at the short blade half the size of his arm. The red jewel in the pommel, the diamond-white blade and the great red stone embedded in the center of the curving hilt. "I know this sword. It's...it's...oh I can't remember..."

He couldn't think clearly since he'd woken up from suspension, and it didn't annoy him as much as it did right this minute. This sword was important! It was...it was important, that's all he knew, but it wasn't enough! He needed to remember, he needed someone to help fight off the Mutants, he needed-

_"Lion-O."_

The voice cut through the mounting fear in his brain, just like always. He had never appeared before him blue and shimmering, even if he looked the same as when he bid them a safe journey from outside the suspension capsules, but still:

"J-Jaga? I-is it really you?" Lion-O asked, a feeling of hope budding in his chest for the first time in a long while. "Y-you're still with me?"

 _"I will always be with you, Lion-O."_ Jaga smiled ever-so-slightly from under his beard, in a painfully familiar way before turning somber. _"Pay heed, because it is your destiny you hold in your hands! The Eye of Thundera, the source of the Thundercats power!"_

When Jaga began to fade, (a vision...only a vision, but he still appeared when Lion-O had needed him desperately, it was still Jaga,) a spark of recognition flared in the back of Lion-O's mind. The sword chamber aboard the ship, before they'd been boarded by these awful Mutants, before they'd been forced to climb into the suspension capsules...

"I remember. Sight beyond Sight."

The Mutants were growing restless around him, Snarf had scampered off of the Simian's head somewhere, (hopefully safe,) and Jackalman was beginning his approach again, but Lion-O let it fade into the background. He brought the Eye of Thundera level with his own, and smiled as the hilt curled up on either side.

The world rippled away until all that was left was the Eye, showing him what needed to be seen. Which was five capsules, the same ones scattered around them now, the same ones holding five individual occupants. Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro, Wilykit and Kat...

Thundercats.

"Thunder!" Lion-O stood up straight, slashing the sword to the side. Jackalman jumped back, eyeing him him skeptically as he repeated the gesture to the otherside. The shining blade extended, twice, as long but not feeling quite as heavy as it had back in the sword chamber aboard the ship. It may have looked too big in his hands, but it felt right. " _Thunder!_ "

"What are you-"

" ** _THUNDERCATS!_** " Lion-O bellowed, hoisiting the Sword of Omens over his head. " ** _HOOOOOO!!_** "

A bright sigil shot out of the eye, burning in the sky. The Mutants all around him gaped up at it, staring in awe at the sign in the sky, forgetting the capsules with the same marks on them.

The capsules with doors that flew off in mere seconds.

* * *

"Th-the-the Thundercats!" The great big ape, Monkian, stammered with wide eyes. "Th-th-they're loose!"

Cheetara wasn't exactly sure what was happening. She had been woken out of a deep, blissfully dreamless sleep by the Thundercat Roar, the instinctive call to arms that set her blood singing, and sprang out of her suspension capsule to find a swarm of nasty, scavenging Mutants around them.

Putting the collapsible staff Jaga gifted her with to work for the second time, Cheetara expanded the rod and sprinted forward, disarming a cluster of Reptilians in three quick movements as she wove through them. Her capsule had fallen further away than the others, and she was a competent fighter, but she would like to get a visual on her allies.

Ironically the first one she found was Tygra. More specifically, she saw a Mutant gawping at something that _wasn't there_ anymore, before a whip coiled around his legs. She turned her attention to a pair of Jackalian's armed with pikes, ducking under their weapons and dashing behind them, giving both a solid knock on the head before they knew what hit them. Two other Mutants down, and she was aware of Tygra's behind her somewhere, but couldn't take her eyes off the large Simian in front of her yet.

Fortunately he had a weak defense on his left side, the side not occupied with wielding a war club with a head the size of a snarf. It was quick work to duck under this lacking defense and jab the tip of her staff into his kidney, once, and then drive it into the backs of his vulnerable knees. The giant fell with a howl, and Cheetara leapt back to put some distance between them.

This time her back came into contact with Tygra's. She could hear his whip cracking, and wanted to ask how he was holding up. He was the only one of them to have spent any time in suspension, four months of it, and she recalled him having some coordination problems before. Memorably, he spent the entire first day he was back forgetting to open the door before walking through it, which was hilarious in hindsight but concerned her at the time.

Cheetara forget to ask if he was faring better now because, out the corner of her eye, she saw a patch of blue and red. Giving it a closer look, a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

Young Lion-O wasn't yet a swordsman. But he had promising form as he blocked the blows of a Jackalian, (one of some rank, she believed,) not successful in trading blows with him but doing enough to defend himself. More than enough, really, since he'd managed to both control the Sword of Omens and summon them to his side.

"Tygra!" she glanced over her shoulder, taking the chance to nudge him with her elbow. "Look who's joined us!"

The tiger turned just in time to watch Lion-O sidestep a heavy blow from Jackalman's axe, which imbedded the head into the earth under their feet. Lion-O put one foot on the head of the axe, keeping it buried even as the jackal tried to pull it loose, and smacked the pommel of the sword hard on his arm. All the strength Jackalman had put into pulling turned into momentum flinging him backwards when he let go, dropping him ass-first on the ground.

The Mutant's yellow eyes were wide and terror-filled as Lion-O leveled the point of the blade at his snout. "Surrender, Mutant!"

"Well, well," Tygra grinned. "Impressive work."

Wilykat sniffed, bouncing a pellet in his hand as if he were wholly unimpressed by his friend's new sword and surprising victory. "Hm. I suppose there's a first time for everything."

Wilykit giggled. "Yeah, we're lucky it's now!"

The fight was rather one-sided to start with. Panthro practically cut his teeth on cracking Mutant skulls and even the Thunderkittens were holding their own with trick lariats and capsules, so Jackalman being disarmed and threatened by a lion cub must have been the last straw for their leader, Slithe. He scowled, looking around in disgust before throwing up his hands.

"Teleport yourselves back to the ships!" he ordered, slapping the button on his wrist.

Left and right, Mutants began vanishing in bursts of light. The Jackalian Lion-O defeated was among the first, though they were all fast to disappear. A hideous bat-winged ship zoomed off into the distance above them, finalizing their hasty retreat in the face of six furious Thundercats.

Even if it was only a temporary victor, given the Mutants still had a ship and theirs was in ruins, Cheetara didn't feel it was a hollow one.

Panthro, however, was a bit more pessimistic. He watched the ship disappear over the horizon and sighed. "Those blasted Mutants will never rest until they get their hands on the Eye of Thundera."

Cheetara retracted her staff, sliding it onto the cuff around her left wrist. She knew him to be right, Panthro was a valuable asset as he'd had more personal experience fighting with Mutants than she or Tygra did. Still, she found herself proud of Lion-O when he stood up taller on the walk towards the spot they were all gathering.

"That will never happen, I'll see to it!" he vowed, raising his chin.

Wilykat harrumphed, folding his arms. "Get him."

His sister chuckled. "One little skirmish and suddenly he thinks he's a superhero!"

They were most likely ribbing him because until today, Lion-O had never won so much as a pretend battle against them. But Panthro gestured for the twins to settle down anyway.

(Of course, he would also joke later on that night after the three kittens had passed out in makeshift bedrolls, that could just mean Wilykit and WilyKat were stronger than Mutants...only that wasn't much of a joke since the twins were crafty enough to pull occasional pranks on Jaga. Thank goodness they were on their side!)

"Now, now. He did pretty good for his first time out." That was just about glowing praise from Panthro, and what's more, it was quite true.

"Yes indeed," Tygra smiled, folding his arms as he smiled proudly at Lion-O. "You're a fine figure of a Thundercat, Lion-O."

"And so brave, too." Cheetara added. She was well into her teens before she'd ever crossed paths with a Mutant, and here the boy was only twelve.

Snarf muttered in the background, feeling underappreciated at the moment, but Panthro's next words drowned out the grumbles of a fussy old snarf: "Now we'll have to go about seeing if we can survive this place, this _Third-Earth_."

"We will survive!" Lion-O said confidently, holding the Sword of Omens flat on his palms. "We'll do more than survive, we'll build a new home, right here! I, Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats, proclaim it!"

The sword projected the Thundercats signal into the sky again, red and black and fierce. Cheetara's Thunderian pride agreed with the decree, but looking around...

Six Thundercats, half of them not even teenagers just yet, and a single snarf, plus the wreckage of a doomed flagship. It wasn't much to build a proclamation off of. One had to wonder if the young Lord's confidence wasn't arrogance.

But then, the brave facade crackled, revealing the still immature boy underneath. A very worried boy who'd lost his home, father, mentor and most of his people. "With your help, of course..."

Wilykat was the one to start it: A mere snort. The kind he did when he was trying to hold in a laugh. His sister followed suit, her mouth quivering a second before breaking into a wide, laughing grin that set the rest of them off, even Lion-O.

"Of course we'll help you! We need someplace to live too!" Wilykat giggled.

"What?" Kit sniggered. "You think we'll come all the way to a new planet before deciding not to work with you anymore, O great Lord?"

Panthro gave Lion-O a slap on the back that almost sent him on his face. "That's the spirit, boy! Let's get to work!"

Tygra wiped the corners of his eyes, chuckling even as he gestured around the shredded remains of their once great flagship. "I think the first thing we should do is take stock of our supplies, see what we can salvage. And does anyone have any injuries that need tending?"

"Nope." Lion-O ran his hand over his head, prompting Snarf to jump to his feet from where he'd been glumly muttering how doomed they were.

" _Mrrreow!_ Oh no you don't! I saw you hit your head on that darned suspension capsule! We're going to the infirmary! _Schnarf, schnarf!_ "

"Aw Snarf! I'm Lord of the Thundercats now!"

Snarf bounded up and started to push Lion-O away from the loose grouping. "And the Lord of the Thundercats needs to take care of himself, _snarf!_ Let's go!"

Indeed: Let this strange new chapter in their lives begin.

**Author's Note:**

> There might be two or three more chapters covering the first couple episodes, maybe, but until they're written it's going to be a oneshot. Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, drop me a line on my Tumblr of the same name as my Ao3 handle!
> 
> (PS, I understand Thundercats Roar is currently unpopular because of the marshmallow art style all LOL RaNDom!! cartoons have these days, but please do not project bitterness here, I'm just a simple fanfiction author posting non-profit stories about alien cat refugees dressed in spandex.)


End file.
